Felicie, Mother of Death
by Whispers To Kill
Summary: Good things never last forever, and Germania had been weary of the dear dog's passing - so very weary when it would be Ludwig's first encounter with anything near comprehensible loss, pain and death: the first tainting of his innocent soul. This time of innocence, of bits of happiness, food on the table... it would soon all pass. Family Human AU


Human AU; Toddler!Germany + Father!Germania + Brother!Prussia

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"Felicie?" A voice of youth echoed off the walls in a pitch of pristine purity. It was not to be mistaken that this was a voice which had never seen the extent of war, a broken heart, fire, adultery, lies, and cruelty beyond that of parental reprimanding and a scraped knee. This was the voice of nonpoisonous spring waters, the wings of little ladybugs, and the curious-mishaps of a clumsy bullfrog; it was not the voice of a soldier, the unfortunate or the neglected.

Sweet, pale hands that had been calloused only by the warmth of sweet cakes and tree-climbing extended its grappling appendages forwards to brush the cool, caramel fur of a wizened, beloved dog. They sought to bury themselves within her coat and comb through the soft, wiry hairs. He expected for his companion, Felicie, to stir as she did every morning, raise her snout and ruffle his hair, wag her tail and rise to accompany him to a lovely morning breakfast, however no such movement occurred. It puzzled the young, awkward toddler - was she sick or hurt?

Little fingers lightly patted her head, pulled her front paw and poked her nose; the large creature made no response. A crease of befuddlement, worry and sadness prodded the youngsters mind - surely his caretaker, Germania would have a solution!

The pitter-patter of little feet caressed in socks ricketed of the walls as he struggled from his bedroom to the kitchen. Germania stood in a sturdy posture, muttering about the mess his eldest son had created at the table before wandering to his daily, questionable activities with the reckless posse he deemed friends. While Germania held within him a fondness for the three trouble-stirring teens, there did remain reasonable regret for the havoc they created together. His thoughts suddenly encountered a halt however, when he felt a small tug of the pants leg from his youngest.

"Vati, Felicie won't wake up!" The words emitted from the child's mouth froze Germania momentarily. The poor hound had been showing signs of dangerous aging. Felicie, adopted as a middle-aged canine had been a loyal, protective and adoring mother to Ludwig, resting alongside his cradle since the day his biological mother disappeared from his life. But good things never last forever, and Germania had been weary of the dear dog's passing - so very weary when it would be Ludwig's first encounter with anything near comprehensible loss, pain and death: the first tainting of his innocent soul.

Gently sweeping the babe within his arms, Germania began the trek towards Germany's bedroom. White walls, an open sunny window full to the brim of morning breeze, little books, toy blocks and rumpled sheets occupied the space; there lay ol' Felicie in what appeared a peaceful slumber.

Germania allowed his knees to fold beneath him; his worn, knowledgeable hands drew outwards. Her nose was dry as the desert sands, no pulse or warmth of breath to be noted. He emitted a sigh; this was a conversation he had had several times with Ludwigs elder brothers, yet each time was always agonizing and stressful. He was a strict guardian, but never one who wished to see such unblemished faces painted with tears or scars; it pained him.

"What's wrong with her? Is she asleep?"

"No, not quite son. Felicie has..."

When the words that blessed his son with the world's darkest knowledge drifted from his lips, Germania was not aware of the great role this concept would provide in his later years. These sugar-coated words fell upon the young'un's ears with sadness and a foreign taste that marked the treacherous path of dank knowledge and emotion he would possess. This time of innocence, of bits of happiness, food on the table... it would soon all pass.

It never was fathomed by Germania that he himself would pass away long before Ludwig's maturity, and that it would weigh upon the shoulders of his beloved, eldest son to raise the babe he loved so much. The time would come when little Ludwig's life became encased by a fearsome ocean in which he was stranded: unable to understand why the world was so cruel, terrified of the bloody tear droplets and screams that would consume his eldest brother, feeling frighteningly lonesome when work and war took would rob him of his siblings and the nightmares of Vati and the first World War could not be comforted with soft pats and sweet songs.

Later, cynical and hardened with his instable years of youth, he would become the cruelty that death was, and the bonds that tied a young boy's heart to the soft muzzle of a dog would become twisted, snapped, frayed bits reminiscent to torn threads. Unfairly he would become another useless, selfish tool for human domination, for he was much stronger than the people who had he deprived of necessity and whose stomachs were emptier than their futures. He'd led them by the thousands to an open tomb and watched proudly as the smoke billowed in the air - an alternative wood and much more efficient, it had seemed.

All wrong; all crude; all corrupted.

It would seem a perfect revenge; a systematic cleansing of someone to blame for all the pain that he had felt in the absence of the love death had torn from his hands. He would do the same to others - powerful, a massive force of destruction and something to be feared! He would show death down by becoming it himself tenfold!

But they were ugly and they lost.

World War Two was over: another human failure.

It was 1945 and Ludwig wasn't quite sure why such a simple, innocent memory had risen to his mind at that moment. Death Penalty for his atrocities - always death; the only thing certain, the one thing reliable, the one thing truthful. When he was a child he had dreamed he'd meet Felicie and Vati in heaven one day - maybe that was why.

But he knew now that it was not to be.

"I'm sorry Felicie. I'm sorry Vati."


End file.
